Bitcoin edged closer to the $90,000 mark on Boxing Day as traditional markets reopened following the Christmas holiday.
The move came alongside fresh all-time highs in precious metals, extending a historic bull run for gold and silver.
Options Expiry Shapes Market Behavior
Bitcoin rose more than 2% during Asian trading, maintaining gains ahead of the Wall Street open.
Traders focused on a major Bitcoin options expiry event valued at nearly $24 billion.
Many viewed the expiry as a potential reset point for price action.
“As these contracts roll off, the hedging pressure that’s been keeping price compressed starts to disappear,” trader BitBull said.
“After that, price action reflects real positioning again, not derivatives mechanics. That’s when direction usually becomes clearer.”
BitBull argued that recent Bitcoin movement lacked an “organic” component due to the dominance of options-related flows.
Shifting Macro Preferences Support Crypto
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe suggested broader market conditions could favor digital assets in the new year.
“January is a period where asset managers are reallocating their assets. If you look at most of the charts, where would you go?” he wrote.
“For sure, nothing in commodities, they are well due for a correction. For sure, not tech stocks, as they are already on a tear and risk is relatively high. But yes, indices are still fine, and mostly, it’s Crypto and Bitcoin.”
Precious Metals Steal the Spotlight
Gold and silver continued to outperform, both setting fresh record highs.
Silver overtook Bitcoin by market capitalization, becoming the world’s third-largest asset.
Gold retained its position at the top, with Nvidia ranking second among global assets.
The metals rally reinforced a broader narrative of investors seeking hard assets amid shifting macroeconomic expectations.
Bitcoin Remains Rangebound
Despite the upside attempt, Bitcoin’s short-term structure remained constrained.
Price action continued to reflect a rangebound environment that has persisted since October.
Even the move toward $90,000 triggered more than $200 million in liquidations over 24 hours, illustrating fragile positioning.
Daily Close Seen as Decisive
Technical analysts emphasized the importance of the daily close for confirming a breakout.
“The daily close is key,” analytics account Crypto Ideology said.
“A confirmed breakout opens a move toward $95k, where the real test lies. Acceptance above $95k would likely lead to a move toward the weekly MA50, around the 100k zone.”
At the time, Bitcoin’s 50-day simple moving average sat near $91,458, while the exponential average hovered around $92,651.
Van de Poppe described crypto markets as “significantly undervalued and mispriced,” anticipating renewed liquidity and a challenge of all-time highs in the months ahead.
